Montreal Pride cancels parade but hundreds march downtown

DespiteMontreal PrideParade cancellation, hundreds of people marched on the streets of downtown to celebrate gender and gender diversity.

Participants gathered in Dochester Square early in the afternoon at the same meeting place originally planned for the parade, with colorful flags. .. Music was playing on the premises. After that, I headed to Emily Gamelan Square in a festive atmosphere.

Montreal police escorted the march and kept the streets clean.

Montreal Pride Executive Director Simon Gamash confirmed the cancellation of the parade on Sunday morning for security reasons.

"That's great," he said, adding that about 200 volunteers were expected, reaching more than one-third of the staff needed.

Cancellations are multiple, includingCOVID-19cases of the week, multiple possible cases of heat stroke and malaise of the volunteers who contributed. The day before he said it was the result of a factor.

Others who said they would help had not attended the previous event, Gamache said, and the organizers concluded that they would not attend the parade.

"Montreal Pride is unaffected by talent issues," Gamache added.

At a press conference on Sunday,Valerie Plante Mayorsaid he was surprised at the sudden cancellation of the parade.

"I wore a pink suit. I was looking forward to walking with Montreal at the most important LGBTQAI2 + parade in North America," she said. "I can't hide my surprise. I was disappointed in this morning's newspaper that it wouldn't happen within hours of the start.

" We sponsored with SPVM I called him and asked, "What's going on?" Why is it canceled hours before the event?

"Let the organizers of the pride (parade) provide the version, but if previously notified, the city can guarantee it. I'm afraid they lack the means." If we knew, we would have put our energy into it (to make it happen).

"I feel frustrated and disappointed. I have pride. I love it. I'm proud that Montreal is a city of LGBTQAI2 + community and friends. It's sad not to celebrate Montreal's place as a city of inclusion and diversity together. "

Montreal Police learned of the cancellation of the parade that morning on Sunday afternoon and tweeted that they did not participate in the decision.

"Every year, we are ready to oversee the event and participate in all editions," SPVM tweeted.

Those who were planning to attend blamed the cancellation of the parade. This was supposed to be the culmination of theweekly festival, but it was encouraging to see the group marching anyway.

"That's really terrible," said Oscar Hogan. "I'm glad everyone is here and having fun celebrating themselves and each other."

Kleo Hellman said the cancellation reminded us of what pride really is. Told.

"It's not about festivals hosted by the municipality," Hermann said. "That's about us. It's about the queer people, and the gender queer people. It's us who make pride important. Without us, there's no pride."

Béatrice Piché called the improvised make-up event a protest rather than a parade.

"I think I'm catching a bit of emotion here right now," Pichet said. "Pride was originally a protest, but I still have that feeling today. People want to be proud. People are a little dissatisfied with corporate pride and what it means in the queer community. It makes a lot of sense for those marching here today, even though the pride was officially canceled. "

Gazoline Burlesque found the cancellation difficult to understand. ..

"You can't cancel on the morning of Pride Day," Burlesque said. "It's not a party. I need this. We've been waiting for this day all year long. So we can't cancel. That's why we're here. I think it's bullish — volunteers. Not enough. "

Julia agreed.

"I think the volunteer situation, police situation, and security situation should have been known before the day," said Julia, who didn't want to name her.

"The fact that it was canceled at the last minute due to lack of security. This was a celebration and many gay, transgender and queer people really felt reassured in our daily lives. Nothing. One day a year, we have a big party to celebrate with everyone and feel at ease. No one really understands why it was canceled ... yes, it's pretty exciting.

Center community LGBTQ + de Montréal sympathized with the issue of pride staffing.

"Everyone is on the boat," said Christian Tanguy. "It was hard for everyone, but we need volunteers to organize all these events."

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Delayed announcement of parade cancellation on social media Called criticism.

"Insufficient staff. The organization has come true today." OneTwittercommenter said that the organizer volunteered more for the months leading up to pride. He said he had never posted about what he needed.

"Lack of organization and mismanagement that bothers me" AnotherTwitteruser wrote.

Due to the 2020 pandemic, the Montreal Pride Parade has been cancelled. Thereduced pride march without floats and vehicles was held in 2021. The

2.9 km parade was to take place from 1 pm along the Rene Levesque Boulevard between Metcalfe and Alexander de Save Street. Thousands of people participate each year to celebrate the progress of LGBTQ2 + community rights promotion and highlight their demands.

Other pride festivals went on schedule on Sunday.

Presse Canadienne contributed to this report.